Boom recruit Barry Hall has starred in his Western Bulldogs debut as they belted Hawthorn by 57 points in their AFL NAB Cup quarter-final.

Hall took four marks and kicked six goals as the Bulldogs dominated for most of Friday night's match at Etihad Stadium to win 1.15.12 (111) to 0.7.12 (54) .

Acting captain Matthew Boyd also impressed with 30 disposals, but Hall was the star.

"It's six months of waiting, I was pretty keen to get out there and not so much as impress but get out there and run around," Hall told Channel Seven immediately after the final siren.

"Six goals is good, but that's not what it was about - I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight."

The Bulldogs will play the winner of Saturday's West Coast-Port Adelaide match in a Cup semi-final.

Hall, the Sydney premiership co-captain, was the main focus of this match and he did not disappoint, kicking his first goal only 85 seconds into the game.

He dominated fellow high-profile recruit Josh Gibson, who also made his club debut in this match after crossing to the Hawks from North Melbourne.

Gibson was Hall's opponent for most of his time on the ground and the new Hawk was no match for the powerful key forward.

The Bulldogs have made the preliminary finals in the last two seasons, but they have clearly lacked a power forward.

Hall will be the ideal recruit, so long as he can keep control of his notorious temper.

It was Hall's inability to control his on-field aggression that prompted him last year to leave the Swans.

This was Hall's first match against another club since he last played for the Swans in round 13 last season.

As Hall made an ideal debut, the Bulldogs were generally outstanding and led at every break.

They consistently out-ran the Hawks and forced them into frequent mistakes with consistent pressure.

While Hall goaled less than two minutes into the game, it was his fourth goal of the opening term that showed the rich potential of his move to the Bulldogs.

Their running players are renowned for their kicking skills and a superb 40m pass from Daniel Giansiracusa found Hall on the lead.

Hall had regular time on the interchange bench in the warm conditions and he was substituted out of the game at 18 minutes into the third term.

Hawks captain Sam Mitchell was his team's best with 29 possessions and rookie Cal Peterson had an eye-catching game.

Peterson was once on Richmond's list and he had 13 possessions, playing mainly as a small forward.

Bulldogs assistant coach Paul Williams said Hall "ticked very box" that was required of him.

But he emphasised that it was a strong team performance from the Bulldogs.

"It was more the pressure and the actual effort from everyone that was the most pleasing," Williams said.

"Barry will get a lot of kudos and you guys (media) will get quite excited by it, but I thought the whole team - intensity and making it hard for Hawthorn - was outstanding.

"No doubt, he (Hall) played a really good game, his first quarter was very, very good.

"The delivery to him was exceptional though and the pressure that he (applied) I thought was one of the most pleasing things."

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson agreed that the Bulldogs' pressure was too strong, but pointed out they played a number of younger players.

"They were pretty good, the 'Dogs, I don't know what to make of it, really - whether they were just outstanding or whether we were a little bit scratchy," Clarkson said.

"It was probably a little bit of both.

"They showed with Hall in their side that they've got a focal point they perhaps have been searching for and they look in pretty good nick.

"From our point of view, we've exposed a lot of young lads to the level over the last couple of games.

"It was great for them to experience that against a side (that) I wouldn't suggest there would be too many who would think the Western Bulldogs aren't going to be in the top four this year and maybe even the top two and challenging for the flag."

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